Always Running Summary

The book I read was Always Running by Luis Rodrigues. The book was published in 1993 and it a memoir. This genre is set in America during the 1960’s to 1970’s, more specifically it is set in Los Angeles. Most of the book highlights gang life and inequalities in America, such as housing inequalities, racism and education. However, in the later of the book it focusses on the Chicano movement during the 1970’s. A common theme in Always running besides gang life is police brutality. In one of the primary documents about the rise of the black panthers Huey newton mentions that the police were impolite and would not hesitate to shoot and kill a black male even at time in the back. This reminded me of when Miguel was shot in the back by police officers in Always running and that led an enormous amount of violence and organization. The fact is although black and latino youth have differences in the racism we face, we still both face …show more content…
She comments “Whether or not readers agree with Rodriguez, it is difficult to dismiss his description of the boiling problem that may finally poison us all.” She believes that the political message of this book makes it beautiful. I would recommend this book to be part of literature curriculum. This book was a fantastic read, I normally dislike to read any book and I can proudly say that I in fact read this whole book and enjoyed reading. Although I normally never read assigned reading I am glad to say that I read this one. Perhaps I was not able to read the other books because they tend to focus on more Anglo American context. Being Chicano I felt as though this book spoke to me, I did not have to be an ex gang member or involved in crime to relate to the story he told. This book is a great book for any Chicano or Chicana that feels lost in the world and is unable to relate to anyone